‘Downton Abbey’ Season 5 Spoilers: Who Went To Jail? Episode 8 Recap

Rose’s (Lily James) wedding was the highlight of “Downton Abbey” Season 5, episode 8, but family affairs cannot happen without scandal. The couple expected some backlash after last week’s disastrous dinner, but they didn’t expect betrayal from one of their own. Someone in the family tried to sabotage the wedding, but that wasn’t the only trouble. Two people considered leaving Downton for good, and someone was finally arrested for Mr. Green’s murder.

The family went to London for Rose’s wedding. Before leaving, Carson (Jim Carter) told Bates (Brendan Coyle) and Anna (Joanne Froggatt) the inspector wanted to talk to them. The police informed the couple a witness had cleared Bates. The person with whom Mr. Green argued before his death was shorter than Bates. They also discovered Mr. Green was a rapist. Although they didn’t say they suspected Anna, they asked her to come to Scotland Yard while she was in London.

In London, Anna went to Scotland Yard and was put in a line up. She was free to go after a man looked at all of the women. She hoped the murder mystery was behind her. However, that was far from the case. Just before the family left London, police came to the house.

As Mary (Michelle Dockery) got ready for bed, Mrs. Hughes (Phyllis Logan) came to fetch Anna. The police arrived and said they needed to arrest her. Mary tried to object and told the officers they couldn’t take her. “I don’t care if you’re the queen of the Upper Nile. I’m going and she’s coming with me,” the officer said.

Before Anna’s arrest, Lady Violet (Maggie Smith) had a much more pleasant problem. Prince Kuragin (Rade Sherbedgia) revealed he wanted a relationship with the Dowager Countess. “I wish to spend my final years with you as a friend, as a lover,” Prince Kuragin said. However, Violet didn’t give him an answer. She couldn’t forget he had a missing wife.

Rose’s wedding to Atticus (Matt Barber) was a major event for the entire family and staff. Carson even hired an extra footman, Andy (Michael Fox), to help. While new, untrained staff could have ruined the affair, it was actually Rose’s mother Susan (Phoebe Nicholls) who tried to sabotage the wedding.

Shrimpy (Peter Egan) and Susan came together, but they weren’t sleeping in the same room. They decided to hide their divorce for the event, but Susan didn’t hide her disapproval of the marriage. Rose’s mother wasn’t very welcoming to her daughter’s soon-to-be in laws. Lord Sinderby (James Faulkner) didn't approve either, but he didn’t try to ruin the wedding.

Rose was given photos of Atticus with another woman. After his bachelor party, a girl came to his room, let herself in and pulled her sleeves off of her shoulders. She quickly walked out and Atticus was left standing in the doorway amused by the girl’s strange antics. However, the pictures of him in his robe and the girl seemed scandalous.

After Atticus saw the pictures, he thought his father had set him up. When Atticus confronted him, Lord Sinderby made it clear he didn’t approve of his son’s marriage to a Christian girl but denied setting up his son. Shrimpy confronted Susan and revealed he knew she had paid the girl to frame Atticus. She claimed to be saving her daughter from life as an outcast, but Rose’s father warned Susan she couldn’t further sabotage the wedding. If she did, he would reveal to Rose her mother tried to ruin the wedding.

However, Susan didn’t stop there. Before Rose and Atticus walked down the aisle, she publicly revealed to the Sinderbys in front of their family and friends she and Shrimpy were divorcing, something against which Lord Sinderby had strong feelings. However, Lady Sinderby (Penny Downie) was quick to thank Susan for her honesty and quietly threatened her husband with a divorce of their own if he made a scene.

Rose and Atticus married without any further torment. They had their ceremony and headed to their reception. While Shrimpy didn’t tell Rose her mother set up Atticus, word of her mother’s divorce announcement quickly reached her. When Susan claimed she was trying to stop the wedding out of love, Rose said, “I’m afraid we must have different definitions of the word.”

Mabel Lane Fox (Catherine Steadman) and Tony Gillingham (Tom Cullen) also appeared at the reception. They revealed they were getting married in December. Lady Mary congratulated the couple and quickly excused herself to go downstairs for a moment alone. Carson hoped she wasn’t feeling upset about Tony’s engagement. “He wasn’t good enough for you, my lady, not by half,” Carson said.

Carson was once again unaware of all the trouble his staff was getting up to. Lady Violet’s new maid, Miss Denker (Sue Johnston), took the temporary footman, Andy, to a club. She convinced him to gamble his savings away. Thomas Barrow (Rob James-Collier) decided to tag along and find a way to get revenge on Denker for what she had done to Andy. He realized she was getting free drinks because she brought men into the club. Barrow went up to the man who ran the club and said Denker just walked in with random men in order to get drinks. When the boys left without her, the maid had to pay for three nights worth of drinks.

London had a different effect on Daisy (Sopher McShera). As she explored London museums and libraries, Daisy realized she had a lot of possibilities in London. She wanted more out of life. She told Mrs. Patmore (Lesley Nicol) she would be quitting soon. “You’ve been very good to me Mrs. Patmore, and I’ll be sad to say goodbye, but I think it’s right,” Daisy said.

That night, Daisy found Mrs. Patmore crying. However, the cook cried happy tears back at home. Though Carson and Lord Grantham (Hugh Bonneville) didn’t put Archie on the war memorial, they still found a way to honor him. They gave Archie a plaque on the side, and Mrs. Patmore was very grateful.

As Mrs. Patmore told Mr. Mason (Paul Copley) about Daisy’s plans, Daisy revealed she wasn’t leaving Downton until she passed her exams.

Meanwhile, Tom (Allen Leech) was considering new opportunities outside Downton as well. Tom had a business offer from his brother in Boston. Tom told Mary he was going to take the opportunity after Christmas.

While that could mean Robert and Cora (Elizabeth McGovern) will have less time with one of their grandchildren, Robert realized he had another granddaughter. Robert claimed he had “a sense of deja vu” around Marigold. After the war memorial presentation, he talked to Cora about his suspicions. “She reminds me of Michael Gregson,” Robert said. Cora confirmed Marigold was their granddaughter, and she asked Lord Grantham to keep it a secret a while longer.

Since Rose’s wedding was over, Isobel (Penelope Wilton) had to make a decision about her own engagement. She worried she shouldn’t marry Lord Merton (Douglas Reith) if his children hated her. She realized she wasn’t the only one with a potential romance. She asked if Violet would get together with Kuragin. “You forget you hold the winning card: Lord Merton’s wife is dead,” Violet said. It seemed she had a clear answer for Kuragin’s proposal.

Some couples had much bigger obstacles to overcome. Lady Mary told Bates not to worry about Anna. She thought that the police didn’t have evidence to claim Anna murdered anyone. “Nothing they’re sharing with us,” Bates said. “But you’re right my lady, she won’t be convicted.”

“Downton Abbey” airs Sundays at 9 p.m. EST on PBS. Do you think Bates will interfere with Anna’s trial? Sound off in the comments section below!